Blind / Low Vision

Currently in Australia we don't know how many Australian children have vision impairment. This makes it hard to plan for the services these children need, or to argue for research into preventing conditions which cause vision impairment.

RIDBC Renwick Centre, in partnership with key Australian service providers, corporate donors, government departments and health professionals has undertaken a major research project to develop and maintain an Australia wide record of children with vision impairment. This project is called the Australian Childhood Vision Impairment Register.

The Register collects accurate information on children who have been diagnosed by an ophthalmologists (eye doctor) with vision impairment. This information is used to establish the number of children involved, the causes and level of vision impairment and any additional disabilities and health conditions these children have. The information is ultimately used to provide better services and treatment for eye and vision conditions.

If you are a child or a parent or guardian of a child, aged of 0-18 years, who has been diagnosed by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor) with vision impairment, you are invited to join the Australian Childhood Vision Impairment Register. You can read more about the Register, and join online at: www.vifamilynetwork.org.au. You can contact Register staff on (02) 9872 0248 or email: acvir@ridbc.org.au.

This is a one day course designed for teachers and other professionals supporting students who are deaf and hard of hearing. It is indented to provide the participants with the theoretical knowledge regarding the role of self-advocacy in the academic access and inclusion of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Individuals with ASD can face many challenges in classroom environments. If unsupported these difficulties can result in behavioural issues that can be exceptionally disruptive to the individuals and their peer’s engagement in learning. A student engagement framework will be used to discuss evidence based strategies for supporting behaviour in the classroom.

This one day course is designed for teachers who have students that are deaf or hard of hearing in their classroom.The course will be presented using a flipped classroom model where participants will need to view webinars to gain fundamental knowledge prior to attending a face to face session.